The way we categorise books is often a way for us to determine what it is we love and what we're not so fond of. Of course, there are the conventional genres that many people are familiar with, such as romance, science-fiction and comedies. But, more recently, a newer genre has entered the scene. The genre of New Adult. But what exactly is it?

The genre was first introduced in 2009, by St Martin's Press, however it is only recently that New Adult has started to become a more recognised genre. This new found fame for the genre can generally be found on TikTok, where book lovers have formed a community, and many want this genre to be recognised more publicly than it is. Lots of the readers found their love for reading in the Young Adult, more commonly referred to as YA, genre. However, these books normally have a teenage protagonist between the ages of 13 and 17, and they typically focus on events that a young adult would be going through, such as first loves, friendship drama, and, of course, the thing everyone can relate to - saving the world. But as much as these readers love the YA genre and the books produced for it, the joy of reading them is no longer the same as it used to, so they turn to New Adult, where they can enjoy similar storylines but with more a more mature writing style. 

However, this quick move to the spotlight can also have damaging effects. Recently, on social media sites, there has been seen to be a push for more explicit content in Young Adult books due to many people consuming New Adult or Adult literature where this explicit content can be found. This push for explicit content can also result in younger audiences consuming this media which is not for them. This issue is only further compounded when bookstores create sections focused on books popular on social media, where all genres and age categories are mixed in together with no indication as to what age the content is actually made for. 

The New Adult genre is still a great thing for the publishing industry to consider making bigger, but people should remain aware of the issues that can arise when these books are stocked next to Young Adult books, as well as when recommendation videos do not properly display any mature or triggering content warnings when advocating for more people to read them.